Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Environment. What urgent steps will be taken to reduce dangerous fuel loads in my electorate before we face another catastrophic fire season? Fire season is here again, and communities across regional Victoria are feeling vulnerable and exposed. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission set out a clear path to keep Victorians safe, yet less than a quarter of the recommended 5 per cent fuel reduction burns have been completed. Fuel loads have been allowed to build to dangerous levels, and at the same time we have parts of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action firefighting fleet grounded and thousands fewer CFA volunteers than a decade ago. This is exactly what locals in the Euroa electorate have been warning about. Residents in Ruffy, Strathbogie and Boho can see the fuel around them getting heavier while planned burns are postponed or abandoned entirely. They remember 2009; they know what happens when government ignores expert advice. Ignoring the royal commission’s recommendations is ignoring the very communities they were designed to protect. Why has the Allan Labor government failed to meet its fuel – (Time expired)